


At Last, Peace

by LRRH17



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo Lives, F/M, Pasaana (Planet), Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Soft Ben Solo, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, sandstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26201383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LRRH17/pseuds/LRRH17
Summary: Rey almost doesn’t believe it. It feels impossible that they should finally get some sense of their own peace. But here they are.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 30
Kudos: 74
Collections: To Rapture the Earth and the Seas: the 2020 Reylo Fanfiction Anthology





	At Last, Peace

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to the RFFA mods, for putting this beautiful anthology together! This was my first time participating, and I enjoyed every moment.

Pasaana’s sky is a bright, glorious blue—as blue as the lightsabers Rey buried on Tatooine two days ago.

She and Ben weave through the crowds of Aki-Aki, hand-in-hand. At times, Rey will pull ahead, tugging Ben along behind her when she spots a new food that she is dying to try. Other times, Ben will take the lead, unable to resist the games set up in stalls along the festival’s perimeter. Above their heads, colorful banners snap in the wind, each one proclaiming the same phrase in a different language:  _ At last, peace. _

_ Peace indeed, _ Rey thinks, glancing at Ben. He wears light brown pants and a tan, sleeveless tunic, a section of his hair braided back to prevent it from blowing into his eyes. When he disappeared on Exegol, she thought him gone forever—but only a few moments later, he re-materialized, his mother’s Force signature heavy in the air around them. They kept his resurrection a secret when Rey returned to the Resistance alone. Ben was waiting for her when she reached Tatooine, and together they went straight to Pasaana—where no one knows Ben’s face—to enjoy the Aki-Akis’ end-of-war festival.

Rey almost doesn’t believe it. It feels impossible that they should finally get some sense of their  _ own _ peace. But here they are.

Feeling her gaze, Ben turns to look at Rey, a soft smile on his face. “What?”

“Nothing,” she says, grinning. She hesitates a moment—is Ben ready for simple displays of affection? Is she?—but quickly makes up her mind. She raises herself onto her toes to kiss his cheek, surprising both of them with the ease of the gesture. “I just like seeing you happy.”

He squeezes her hand. “I like _being_ happy. I like being with you,” he admits quietly, almost solemnly. They had agreed to think about their past as little as possible today, and instead focus on the future—their future. But even so, Rey knows that Ben can’t help himself from thinking too much. That is something that will never change. He seems to remind himself of their decision, though, and shakes his head to clear it. Then he smirks, a look that is all Han Solo. “And I like beating you at Water Target.”

Rey gasps in mock-affront, pleased that he is falling so easily into teasing her. “You did not beat me, Ben Solo. I let you win.”

“Ah, so you meant to shoot water at the stall owner instead of the target.”

“If  _ someone  _ hadn’t used the Force to cheat and redirect my aim to the stall owner instead of the target, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

He laughs. It sounds so natural, so undeniably Ben, that she immediately melts. She will never get tired of that smile.

“So what’s next?” he asks, glancing at the crowd around them.

“Last time I was here, they had a small theatre set up for a puppet show.” She blushes. “I know it’s meant for children, but I wouldn’t mind walking by, at least. And then, maybe…”

Rey looks to where the Aki-Aki musicians have formed a semi-circle at the festival’s very edge. Before them, countless couples, both humanoid and alien, dance to the beautiful songs they play.

Ben follows her gaze. “Yeah,” he says, answering her unspoken thought. “Yeah, we’ll do that, too.”

* * *

The storm catches them completely by surprise.

One moment, they are sitting on a woven mat beneath the children’s canopy, chatting with the young Aki-Aki before the puppet show begins; the next, bells begin to clang throughout the festival, followed by shouts in a language that Rey cannot understand.

Ben pulls her to her feet as the Aki-Aki parents sweep their children into their arms, his anxiety clear through their bond. “They’re telling us to evacuate the festival.”

Rey’s eyes widen as she follows him back out into the open air. “What? Why—”

She breaks off mid-sentence at the sight before them. Where the sky had been clear and beautiful only an hour ago, thick clouds are now rolling over the rocky outcroppings far out in the desert, impeding the sun’s light. Just on the horizon, moving closer to them with each second, is a massive wall of wind-whipped sand.

Rey breaks into a run, practically dragging a stunned Ben behind her. “We need to get to the  _ Falcon! _ Now!”

“How long do we have?” he yells. Around them, the other festival-goers race to gather their own loved ones.

“If it’s anything like the ones on Jakku, there’s only six minutes before it covers this entire plain!”

At that, Ben runs faster. They race across the fairground, dodging people and stalls as best they can, their minds linked so tightly that they move as one person. Though Rey wishes they could stop and try to help the vendors rescue some of their wares, she knows it wouldn’t do any good. Any desert-dweller knows that, in the face of a sandstorm, organic life takes top priority.

They crest the top of the ridge where the  _ Falcon _ waits. Ben lifts a hand and motions upwards, opening the ramp. They hurry up the worn metal into the main hold, and Rey slams her fist against the control panel to close them in. Only after hearing the familiar sound of the ramp clanking shut does she allow herself to finally breathe.

They’re safe.

Ben collapses into the booth beside the dejarik table, gently tugging Rey down beside him. She leans her head back against the wall as they both struggle to catch their breath. Ben runs a hand through the unbound part of his hair. “That was…”

She nods. “Yes.”

“But we made it.”

“We did.”

They sit in silence for several minutes, just breathing, before Ben speaks again.

“What happens now?” he asks.

Rey sighs. “We just have to wait it out. There’s no way we can take off in a storm this size.”

“How long do you think it will last?”

“The longest one I ever waited out was nearly two days. Thankfully, this one seems much smaller than that. I’d say four hours at the most.” She thinks of Jakku—of waiting in her AT-AT as a child, terrified that she would never see the sun again, wondering if she would die there, no family to mourn her.

Ben’s grip on her hand tightens as the memory fills his mind. Rey immediately senses his anger. It simmers within him, a volatile spark of red across their bond that, if provoked, could turn into a fire at any moment. Still, it is accompanied by a blue so dark that it is almost black. The only word she can use to describe it is heartbreak. 

“I hate it,” he says quietly, each word precise. “Imagining you on your own, abandoned on that wasteland of a planet—it  _ hurts. _ ” His dark eyes meet hers, and there is such sympathy in them—such love—that she is breathless once more.

Rey eases her hand out of his grip, wrapping her arm around him and drawing him against her side. Ben slides closer and leans his head on her shoulder. “It hurts me, too,” she whispers, “thinking of what you have survived. All those years of pain, of—of thinking that you are not meant to be loved, when you  _ are _ —”

He makes a small, wounded sound, and presses his face to her neck.

“But we’re together now,” she continues. “We never have to be alone again.”

Ben nods, holding her tighter in response. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to see the puppets,” he says, voice muffled. “And I’m sorry that we didn’t get to dance. I know how much you wanted to.”

“It’s alright.” She huffs a laugh. “It’s probably better that we didn’t dance. I imagine that I would be quite awful at it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how to dance,” she admits. “I just thought that it looked like fun. Those couples were so graceful—so in-tune with one another—that I knew I wanted to try it with you. Even if I looked foolish.”

He pulls away, brows furrowed. “You wouldn’t look foolish, Rey.”

She smiles. “You’re wrong. But thanks.”

Ben regards her for several moments, his expression serious. He still has not lost that intensity that he had as Kylo Ren. Rey resists the urge to squirm under his scrutiny, fidgeting with her hands in her lap.

Without saying a word, Ben nudges Rey with his elbow, motioning for her to stand. She slides out of the booth, curious, as he follows suit. He extends a hand to her.

“What?” she asks, completely lost.

Ben sighs, grabbing her hand and pulling her in. “We’re going to dance.”

“Seriously?”

“Why not?” He gives her a small smile as he adjusts her stance, placing one of her hands on his shoulder and keeping the other locked in his.

“But there isn’t any music.”

“We can make our own.”

“Ben, I really don’t think—”

“Rey,” he interrupts, looking at her with fond exasperation. “Just follow me. It will be easy, I promise.”

Rey takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly, a grin making its way onto her face. “Okay.”

Ben pulls her close and begins to hum softly. He guides her with gentle nudges, both physically and through the Force, and soon, they are gently swaying in time to the song. It feels effortless—the way the Light had, when it flowed through her that first time. Rey rests her head on Ben’s shoulder, her heart full.

“See?” Ben murmurs. He kisses the top of her head. “Easy.”

Together, they dance, forgetting for a moment the storm that rages outside.


End file.
